In “I Really Love My Husband,” GG Hawkins’ undercooked feature debut as a writer-director, Teresa (Madison Lanesey) tells others that she really loves her husband every chance that she gets. But by saying it out loud, it often looks and sounds like she is first and foremost trying to convince herself that her love is the true kind. Except, starting with the early scenes of this comedic drama that could have used both better humor and deeper dramatic stakes, there are various clues that she might not, in fact, be in love with Drew (Travis Quentin Young), an incurable people-pleaser who Teresa actually seems to be annoyed with too often. (Why else would she be on the phone on her wedding day with who appears to be her ex, exaggeratedly telling them about how much she loves her husband?)
We get to know the standard dynamic between the questionably happy couple on a flight to their honeymoon in idyllic Bocas del Toro, Panamá, while Drew does everything in his power to be exhaustingly genial, while Teresa shows her comparably on-edge personality. An in-flight episode about a fellow passenger’s near-fatal nut allergy briefly makes Teresa the suspect — is it her Keto bar that caused the crisis? But when Drew heroically jumps in to share the blame, it becomes a bridge too far for Teresa. Does he really have to be this damn nice all the time?
As we spend more time with the couple, Teresa’s skepticism makes sense in certain ways — however well-meaning Drew might be, no one wants to look like the relative bad guy when their significant other collects all the good will, sometimes at the expense of their spouse. But what doesn’t make sense is Teresa’s gradual unraveling during their honeymoon, considering their trip isn’t even immediately after their wedding. They have been married for a whole year already and they finally have the time to celebrate their union.
Even if you take their reality at face value — that somehow this mismatched pair got married a year ago and stayed married that whole time — what comes after the flight increasingly tests one’s patience as Teresa acts in unforgivably harsh ways towards Drew. We aren’t supposed to judge of course, as every person (in real life and in movies) is allowed their own awakening and growth regardless of their age. But you are never quite sure whether the movie itself manages to stay non-judgmental towards Teresa as she tries to spice up her marriage with Drew, only to eventually blow up and admit to her true feelings. Often, this critic wished that some of the grace notes that the script allowed Drew were also utilized for Teresa.
Thankfully, the film dials up its energy (only briefly) with the introduction of Paz (a truly captivating Arta Gee), the non-binary manager of the couple’s vacation rental. There is some chemistry amid the trio — one Hawkins should have teased and leaned into more — which leads Teresa to suggest to Drew, “What if we seduced Paz?” Soon, she gets her wish and the trio has a rewarding threesome, an episode “I Really Love My Husband” neither shows, nor (thankfully) judges. But predictably, this escapade proves to be a distraction from, rather than a solution to, their real problem. No matter how they spin it, Teresa and Drew aren’t all that compatible. Knowing this, staying with “I Really Love My Husband” — even at its compact 79-minute-runtime — feels like a chore, despite the movie’s pretty locations (though the film’s digital look doesn’t do justice to them) and committed cast. Among them is Lisa Jacqueline Starrett, who alluringly plays a former reality TV star and Paz’s friend that the story can’t find a real use for.
Still, the main issue with “I Really Love My Husband” is its inauthentic set-up that asks us to believe that people who are as worldly, open-minded and aware of their own needs as the film’s central couple, fall into marriage and monogamy because it’s what’s expected of them, and not because it’s what they want. And frankly, that’s asking a little too much in today’s self-care-oriented society. It’s not that bad marriages don’t happen from Gen X to Gen Z. And it’s not that there is anything wrong with recognizing that your needs have evolved over the course of your first year of marriage. But “I Really Love My Husband” thoroughly spells out that Teresa has always felt somewhat suffocated in her domestic arrangement, unsure of whether she actually loved Drew from the day they started dating. In that, it’s anyone’s guess why she stuck with her marriage and “I Really Love My Husband” won’t give you any sufficient reasons to care about them enough to keep guessing.